Global unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) market size is poised to record notable growth over the forecast period. UGVs have immense potential in wide range of defense operations as well as commercial applications. Ongoing technological developments to integrate advanced features will drive future UGV market trends.

According to the commutation type, the market is segmented into tracked, wheeled, legged, and hybrid. Wheeled UGV segment will likely be the fastest growing segment owing to increasing demand across commercial applications. Legged UGVs are capable of performing a range of manned-unmanned combined missions making them suitable in both military and commercial uses. Hybrid UGV are increasingly gaining prominence owing to their ability operate across multiple surfaces.

Applications of unmanned ground vehicles can be broadly categorized into defense and commercial. The defense segment includes applications such as search & rescue, special mission, combat support, explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) systems, and others.

Search and rescue application segment will grow at healthy rate owing to surging demand for UGVs in supporting combat missions. On the other hand, special mission segment will witness a rapid adoption of UGVs to perform various high-risk operations.

The commercial application segment is bifurcated into firefighting, agriculture, oil & gas, and others. UGVs finds widespread use in firefighting operations as they significantly minimize the risk of human injuries and fatalities during firefighting. Meanwhile, a rapid surge in crude oil production and extraction activities around the world will bolster the adoption by oil and gas companies.

Considering vehicle size, medium scale UGVs are poised to experience increasing adoption in mining and agriculture activities. Medium size UGVs typically weigh between 401lb and 2,500lb. Large UGVs, which weigh between 2,501lb and 20,000lb, are facing a strong demand across the defense sector to carry out search & rescue and combat missions.

On the other hand, extra-large UGVs market will grow on account of growing need for fully-autonomous UGVs capable of performing automated tasks and heavy-duty operations. Based on operation types, teleoperated UGVs segment is slated to garner significant momentum. This can be linked with advantages such as easy manufacturing, maintenance and operation.

Navigation system, communication system, motors/actuators, and power systems, among others, are different UGV components. Motors/actuators component segment will witness healthy growth in the forthcoming years. Ongoing developments to boost the operational efficiency of actuators and motors will increase their demand.

Power systems form an integral component of unmanned ground vehicles. The introduction of new, more advanced power systems and significant R&D spending from manufacturers will drive the segment growth. Latin America UGV market size is expected to experience lucrative growth in the near future on account of rising offshore wind farming activities in Brazil and Mexico.